Sexual Tension
by kcrella
Summary: Tony and Pepper have been skirting round each other for years with the will they won't they relationship. Will they finally address the sexual tension between them?
1. Chapter 1

**It's been about 3 years since I've written anything but I'm back! This is set around the time of Iron Man 3 and Tony and Pepper have an on/ off relationship. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think so far :)**

Pepper had worked for Tony Stark long enough to not be nervous around him so why was she fretting about what she looked like every time she went to work recently? It hadn't always been like this. Tony had just been her arrogant boss. _He's also your very good-looking boss._ Stop it Pepper, she scolded herself.

Anyway, she hadn't paid much attention to his flirtatious remarks, passing them off as banter which he tried on with every woman. Things were different now though. After Tony had escaped from that cave in Afghanistan, she saw him in a different light. He hadn't changed but he also kind of had (if that makes any sense at all.) After all they'd been through; his capture, Obadiah's betrayal, New York, she was starting to realise that Tony Stark was in fact all she'd got.

 _Maybe if you weren't married to your job you'd have met someone._ However much her conscience reminded her of this, another part of her was glad that she hadn't met someone. Tony demanded most of her attention anyway. She was too tired for anyone else to come into her life right now. Tony and Pepper had toyed with the idea of being in a relationship before and both were too scared to want to hurt the other. Tony was away a lot and always so busy that there never seemed much point in trying to push their relationship towards anything more than professional.

So now they were both left with the are we aren't we scenario, or maybe that was just Pepper. Maybe it was all just her imagination and Tony had been playing her this whole time. The thought made her feel a bit sick.

In between her bouts of daydreaming, Pepper realised with a start that she was just round the corner from Tony's house. _Get in the work zone Pepper._ She weirdly never called it work in her head, it was always going to Tony's or Tony's house. She wondered what that said about her relationship with her boss. Then again, she didn't want to know.

Upon entering the mansion, Pepper was met with a wave of heat.

"Good morning Miss Potts, it's 35 degrees outside and a stifling 40 degrees inside. Would you like me to turn the air conditioning on?" JARVIS said almost merrily.

"Yes please JARVIS. Why is it so hot in here and where's Tony?"

"I believe Mr Stark is trying out a new experiment which requires a hot environment for it to gain the best results. He told me not to inform you of his whereabouts."

Pepper loved how candid JARVIS could be. She was surprised Tony hadn't programmed him to just full out lie to her. The computer even sounded slightly guilty about the fact she wasn't to know Tony's whereabouts or was that just her imagination?

"Tony?"

She was met with silence. Why did this man delight in making her so angry? It hadn't even been 5 minutes and Pepper already wanted to punch him. She was hot, angry and confused as to what was going on. This was what he wanted though wasn't it; he liked winding her up.

Frustrated, she marched down to his workshop to find it empty. Where was he? The silence was shattered by an almighty crash. Panicking in typical Pepper fashion now, she raced back upstairs to find Tony sprawled on the floor, nursing his head. All anger had dissolved from Pepper now and she hurried over to help him.

"Tony, what happened?"

"Oh, Hi Pepper. Nothing, just an experiment gone wrong."

She reached out to touch his forehead then drew back, thinking better of it. He grabbed her hand as she drew it away.

"Wait, have you got cold hands?"

"What?"

Deciding that she had, Tony pulled Pepper's hand back to his forehead where it rested awkwardly.

He sighed in content.

Pepper drew her hand away, not sure whether she should start shouting or examine his head instead. She settled on Nurse Potts.

"What actually happened Tony?"

He didn't look at her which meant it was bad.

"A new element I'm working with works best under extreme heat but it got so hot that it exploded."

"That's not all is it?" Pepper said, not convinced. She knew when Tony was hiding something.

"I've already added the element to my arc reactor."

"Tony!"

"Look, I-"

"Why do you do this to yourself? Why don't you just think things through and-"

"Pepper calm down, I'm fine!"

"You're not fine, you've got a chemical in your chest which could explode at any minute!"

Tony was silent. Tony was never silent.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

"I think I'm going to be sick."

He rushed off to the bathroom and Pepper sat down for the first time since coming through the front door. No matter how much Tony annoyed her, she still worried about him and felt affectionate towards him.

After 10 minutes and no word from him, Pepper approached the locked bathroom cautiously.

"Tony, do you need anything?"

"A glass of water would be nice" came the reply.

Pepper returned with the glass of water and knocked on the door.

Tony opened the door slowly. His face was pale.

"Thanks Pep."

At the sound of her nickname, she blushed.

She couldn't resist reaching out and touching his forehead. He looked deep into her eyes as if he was trying to communicate something to her. She couldn't tear her gaze away from his face. He was so handsome, even when he was sick.

"You should rest" Pepper said, pulling herself out of the trance.

"Alright Nurse Pepper but only if you join me".

"No, I've got work to do."

"Well I'm your boss and I say you don't have to do any work today."

"Tony, I have to work for the both of us."

"You're not denying the fact that you'd like to spend the day with me though are you? C'mon Pepper, just think of it as a little team building day. Colleagues getting to know each other better" he smirked.

It did sound appealing but she couldn't let on that she really wanted to spend the day with him.

He reached for her hand.

"Pepper, maybe I just want to spend the day with you" he said softly.

"Tony I, I don't think that's a good idea" she said firmly.

"Fine" he dropped her hand and turned away.

"That will be all Miss Potts."

Pepper opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. She turned away without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

**This isn't just a one shot for those who were wondering. I plan on making it a fair few chapters. Tony has a surprise for Pepper. Would love to know what you think :)**

 _What are you scared of Pepper? You think he's going to hurt you and that you'll just be another girl on that list._ No matter how hard she tried, Pepper couldn't shake the thought of Tony from her head. She wanted him…badly. She had no idea why she'd rejected him like that yesterday but she was determined to show him that she really did care.

The thought of going back to work was a little embarrassing after yesterday's events but knowing Tony, he'd probably already forgotten.

She took a deep breath and opened the door to Stark Industries. Pepper checked her phone and almost dropped it when she saw a reminder flash up. She was meant to be in a meeting right now! How could she have forgotten? She never forgot anything. Cursing, she broke into a run, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. Focused on getting to the meeting, Pepper didn't see Tony come round the corner and ran straight into him.

Her heels slid on the tiled floor making her completely lose balance and go flying backwards. Pepper flailed about, reaching out for something to steady herself when a pair of strong arms reached around her shoulders and braced her as she fell.

Pepper managed to catch her breath and found herself staring into the brown eyes of Tony Stark. His well groomed hair had fallen out of place and was brushing her nose. She tucked it behind his ear and he caught her hand as she pulled it away. There was a few seconds where neither of them said anything and Pepper found herself moving towards Tony like that night on the roof. The night they hadn't spoken of since.

"No need to throw yourself at me Pepper!" Tony said, pulling her upright.

She was now standing in his embrace but made no effort to move. She could feel herself blushing furiously though.

"Sorry, I was late for a meeting."

"You? Late for a meeting?"

"I know, I-"

"…but seriously though, are you okay?" Tony said reaching out to brush her arm.

She shivered at his touch and couldn't help but blush again. The overwhelming desire to kiss him was too much.

"I'm fine, thank you. I really must uh, you know um."

"You must what?" he teased.

"The meeting" Pepper announced, turned on her heel and left again.

He really must find a way to make her stay he thought as Pepper turned away. He was starting to think she liked him as much as he liked her. He could see it in her eyes, the same sort of desire he shared.

He'd have to be careful how he approached this one. Pepper wasn't easily wooed. She was kind and gentle and the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. He just needed to tell her that, but how?

The meeting seemed like the longest Pepper had ever endured. The words washed over her like waves and it was almost as though they were speaking in a foreign language. Every single thought that entered her head was of Tony. Was he going to kiss her? Why had she left again? Had she missed her chance? She really hoped not.

Once the meeting was over, Pepper was the last to leave. She always ended up cleaning the meeting room, stacking the empty mugs and plates at the sides of the room and wiping the whiteboard clean. A voice behind her made her startle.

"I thought I'd find you here."

"Oh, Tony. Yes, I just thought I'd clean, you know…um the dirty plates and things".

He raised his eyebrows and smiled at the fact she was stumbling over her words.

"Miss Potts, could you just come and look over this contract for me please. We'd like your input" a colleague of Tony's interrupted them.

"Of course, since Tony's here too he can give the final say on it".

"Oh, no it's alright, it's just a draft" said Tom, or was it John? Pepper was losing track of the many employees at Stark Industries.

Confused that Tony wasn't needed, she reluctantly agreed and shot a look at Tony, who shrugged as she left the room.

What Pepper didn't know was, that whilst she was in the meeting, Tony had been preparing lunch for them outside. A picnic in fact, in a private garden behind the Stark mansion where no one would bother them.

Pepper returned to the meeting room after signing the contract on Tony's behalf. She was still wondering why he hadn't just signed it herself when she noticed something written on the whiteboard.

MEET ME IN THE GARDEN FOR A LUNCH BREAK LIKE NO OTHER…

Pepper smiled. Tony was being cryptic again. What garden? As far as she knew, there were just sprawling cliffs behind the Malibu hideout. She peeked out the door of the meeting room to see if Tony was waiting for her about to jump out in typical Tony fashion.

He wasn't there. Pepper frowned and began to walk down the corridor. As she walked down the tiled floor she spotted a lone flower lying in the middle. She picked it up and turned it over in her hand. It was a beautiful carnation. Pepper carried on walking and found more and more flowers. She was starting to sense a theme. Tony was leading her to this garden.

She eventually picked up the last flower and opened the door to the most exquisite garden she'd ever seen. Pepper gasped in wonder at the luscious trees and huge bunches of flowers in front of her. The vibrant colours made the garden pop and look ethereal in the afternoon sun.

Sat in the middle, upon a chequered blanket was Tony holding a bottle of champagne. Around him was freshly made sandwiches, salads and her favourite; smoked salmon.

"Pepper, you made it!"

 **Next chapter there will be fluff!**


End file.
